Combination polishing and collecting mechanism



A. HOFMANN Sept. 22, 1936.

COMBINATION POLISHING AND GQLLECTING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 OriginalFiled June 20, 1934 W m 2 wToR ATTORNEYS A, HOFMANN Sept. 22, 1936.

COMBINATION POLISHING AND COLLECTING MECHANISM Original Filed June 20,1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 mm E m 1 INVENTOR ATTORN EY a A. HOFMANNCOMBINATION POLISHING AND COLLECTING MECHANISM Original Filed June 20,1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 A. HOFMANN Sept. 22, 1936.

COMBINATION POLISHING AND COLLECTING MECHANISM Original Filed June 20,1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 W 4) fl a ma/vu/ INVFNTOR BY k0 JTORNEY I A.HOFMANN Sep t. 22, 1936.

COMBINATION POLISHING AND COLLECTING MECHANISM Original Filed June 20,1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR 4f 7% BY 0a r 0a/(,47

ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 22, 1936 UNITED STATES COMBINATION POLISHINGAND COLLECT- ING MECHANISM Alfred Hofmann, Palisade, N. J., assignor toAlfred Hofmann Needle Works, Inc., Union City, N. J., a corporation ofNew Jersey Original application June 20, 1934, Serial No.

731,440. Divided and this application March 14, 1935, Serial No. 11,058

' 21 Claims.

This apparatus relates to improvements in mechanism by means of whichwork pieces may be ground, polished, and/or buffed and collected upon areceiving tray or platform in orderly array.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an automatic machineby means of which work pieces may be successively transferred from areceiving point through several stations upon which the operations ofgrinding, polishing and/ or buffing may be performed in succession.

A further object of this invention is to provide. in conjunction withthe above mechanism an automatically operating mechanism for receivingthe work pieces after being processed and arranging them in orderlyarray upon a tray or receptacle. 7

These and many other objects as will appear from the followingdisclosure are secured by means of the invention herein disclosed.

26 This invention resides substantially in the combination,construction, arrangement and relative location of parts, all as will beset forth in full detail in the following specification in connectionwith the attached drawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No.731,440, filed June 20, 1934 for Method and machine for making knittingneedles.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view with some parts broken away of thecombined mechanism of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of the apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the chuck opposite thefirst polishing wheel;

Fig. 5 is a similar view of the chuck at the second polishing wheel;

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6-45 of Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is a longitudinal vertical central crosssectional view throughthe chuck and the associated mechanism at the third polishing wheel;

Fig. 8 is a view. taken on the line 8 -8 of Fig. {7;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the chuck of Fig. 4 with the chuckopen; and

Fig. 10 is an end elevational view of the mechanism for receiving thefinished work pieces.

The mechanism herein disclosed forms part of an automatic machine formanufacturing spring beard knitting needles and comprises a multiplepolishing mechanism for polishing the beard end of the needle before itis bent and for collecting the finished needles and assembling them inorderly array upon a tray to facilitate their handling. The structure ofthe invention is of course adapted to many uses otherthan thatofpolishing and finishing the beard end of a knitting needle. However, forpurposes of disclosure there has been illustrated in the drawings springbeard knitting needles which are representative of the type of workwhich may be operated upon with this mechanism.

It is equally clear to those skilled in the art that the mechanism maybe employed inde-. pendently of any other mechanism, or may beincorporated in, as a part of, a largerassociation-of elements, as isillustrated for example inthe parent application mentioned above, ofwhich this application is a division.

It will be equally clear to those skilled in the art that the inventionis not restricted to use as a polishing machine, but may be employed forsuchuses as grinding and buffing, depending upon the type of abrasive orfriction wheel employed.

It is likewise within thescope of this invention to employ other formsof wheelswadapting the device for operation upon work pieces of otherphysical form. 1 a p Referring to Fig. 1, this device consists of asupport 450 secured to the table I and in turn supporting a table member45l upon which the chuck assemblies 452, 453, 454 and 455 are secured inlongitudinal spaced arrangement. Journaled on the member 45! to the rearof these chuck assemblies is a shaft 456 which has secured there: to afinger 451 for each of these chuck assemblies and positioned to engagethe knob or button 458 on theoperating rods for these chucks. Secured toshaft 455 is a depending lever 459 which is connected by the link rod460, to a lever 46l which is freely and pivotally supported on the rod81. The lever 46! is provided intermediate its ends (see Fig. 3) with acam follower 46! which rides in a groove (partly indicated by dottedlines Fig. 3) on the cam 462 on the shaft [0 to effect operation ofthese connected parts in an obvious manner. The purpose of the fingers45] is to open and close these chuck assemblies at the proper time toreceive and discharge the needles.

The chuck assemblies 452 and 453 are thesame and the nature of theirconstruction is clear from Fig. 4. The casing 452' of the chuck isshaped to form' a chamber in which the relatively movable members 463and 463 are mounted. The forward ends of these members 468 and 461provide gripping jaws which are relatively movable, as is clear in Fig.9. 1 7

'in the table 45!.

The relatively movable members are provided with pins 464 which engagein open end slots in the link 465 which is pivotally supported on afixed pivot pin 466. It will be apparent then that when fingers 451 movein to engage the buttons 458 of either chuck assembly 452 or 453 themembers 463 and 463', having the gripping jaws at the end, will be movedaway from each other to the position shown in Fig. 9, at which time aneedle may be placed in a position to be gripped and held in the chuckassembly. Fingers 451 then recede so that the spring pressed rod uponwhich button 458 moves to the left (Fig.9) bringing the gripping jaws461 and 468 into relation with the needle, as is clear in Fig. 4.

The other two chuck assemblies 454 and 455 are of somewhat differentconstruction since they must be rotated upon the longitudinal axis ofthe needle to effect oscillatory spinning movement thereof during thepolishing operations for reasons to be described.

In this case the chuck assembly comprises a fixed bearing casing 469(see Fig. 6) in which a circular sleeve 416 is rotatably mounted. Theouter end of this sleeve is provided with a flange 41! having a notch412 to be engaged by a finger 413 .pivotally mounted at the top of thebearing member 469 and normally held in the position shown in Fig. 5 byaspring 413. The sleeve 416 is provided with a tubular extension 414 towhich is secured a gear 415. This gear meshes with a linearlymovablerack 416 mounted in a track The rack is clearly seen in Figs. 1and 2. When the rack moves back and forth it will be apparent that thesleeve 416 and the members attached thereto including the gripping jaws461 and 468 will be oscillated on the axis of the needle. The grippingjaws are opened and closed by the fingers 451 for these two chuckassemblies in the same way that they are opened and closed for the chuckassemblies 454 and 453.

The chuck assembly 455 difiers from the chuck assembly 454 only in thatchuck assembly 455 is mounted upon a carriage which moves transverselyof the support 45! (see Figs. 7 and 8). In this case a'guide way bed 486is secured to the support-45! having guide tracks 48! therein, in whicha tongue 483, formed on the bottom of the housing 482 moves. A rod-484is supportedbetween-the support 45! and the bed 486 and is en- .circledby a spring as shown in Fig. '1, which engagesa lug depending from thehousing 482, so as tonormally urge the housing to the right. The chuckassembly itself is supported in the housing 482 and may be oscillated bythe rack 416 as before, and the jaws may be opened and closed by thefinger 451. The housing and the chucks mounted thereon normally lie atthe extreme right position under the pressure of the spring and is movedback after-it'receives a needle by means of an adjustable set screw 485which will be described later.

The rack 416 is oscillated by means of a connecting rod-486-which isoperated in the proper timed relation with suitable and well knownmechanism from 'thepower source so that it will reciprocate up and downat a desired rate. This rod 486 is pivotallyconnected to a. bell cranklever 48.1 which in turn is connected by the link 488 to the rack416(see Figs. 1 and 2).

' At 489 is a rod which isoperated from below the table from the powersource so as to reciprocate up and down in the proper timed relation.

' Secured to the upper end of this rod is a plate 496 ment by the bar496 (see Fig. 2). The plate 496 is provided with a dovetail groove as isclear from Fig. 3, in which the tongue of a reciprocal bar 49! rides.The plate 496 is provided with a lug 492 and the bar 49! is providedwith a lug 493 between which a heavy coil spring 494 is connected tohold the bar 49! in the position shown in Fig. 1. Plate 496 also has afixed ear 495 positioned to be engaged by an adjustable stop on the lug493. The bar 49! likewise has an ear 496 with an adjustable stop screwpositioned to engage the other side of the ear 495. Pivotally mounted onthe bar 49! are the four levers 491 which have secured thereto, formovement therewith, the small cams 498 which lie between the arm and thefingers 499 which are pivotally connected intermediate their ends sothat the lower ends may be operated towards and away from each other inan apparent manner. The fingers are pivotally supported from downwardextensions on the bar 49! and have compression springs 496' betweenthemto permit their operation. The short levers 491 are all pivotallyconnected to asingle link 566 which in turn is pivotally connected to asmall bar 5l9, which is slidably supported in a grooved extension 5!8 ofthe bar 49!.

The small bar 5!!! is provided with a pair of spaced pins 52! and 526which are to be engaged by one arm 564 of a bell crank lever which ispivotally supported, as is clear from Figs. 1 and 2, and which isoperated from the other end by means of a rod 565 which extends belowthe table and is likewise operated from the power source by means of anysuitable mechanism such as a cam. The bar 495 is likewise provided witha depending arm 561 positioned to be engaged by the roller on the arm562 of a bell crank lever pivoted on the same shaft with the bell cranklever 564. The other arm of the bell crank lever 562 is pivotallyconnected to the rod 563 which extends below the table and is likewiseoperated by a cam or the like from the power source.

The supporting and operating mechanism for the polishing wheels will nowbe described. Referring to Fig. 3 this will be seen to comprise a baseplate 566 secured to the table I having guide ways thereon for guidingthe table or carriage 566 which is pivotally connected by the link 568to a lever 569 pivotally supported from the base plate 566. The otherend of lever 569 is pivotally connected by a link 5!!! to a lever 5!!pivotally supported on the overhead rod 87. The lever 5!! has operativeengagement with a cam (not shown) mounted on the shaft !6 in back of cam462, Fig. 1.

Supported from the carriage or table 566' is a transverse guide way 561upon which a plate 5l3 may slide transversely of the carriage or table566'. Pivotally supported on the plate 5|3 is a motor support 5 !4 towhich the small electric motor 5 5 is secured. This motor is operativelyconnected by belt 5l6 to a shaft, driven by pulley 5 l 1, journaled onthe yoke 522 and adjustably supported from the plate 5!3. Secured to theshaft to which pulley 5!? is attached in spaced relation so as to be infront of the chuck assemblies 453, 454 and 455, are the polishing wheels523, 524 and 525 respectively. As shown in Fig. 3, a pair of standards526 are secured to the table 566 and support at rotatable shaft 521 towhich is secured a lever 528 having a roller on the end positioned toengage the cam surface 529 of a fixed member which is supported from thebase plate 566. Thus, when the table 566' is oscillated back and forthon the base plate 566 by means of the lever 599, arm 528 will be raisedas its rollered end moves up the cam surface 529 of the fixed member.

Mounted upon the shaft 521 and secured thereto by means of set screwsare the arms 539 adjacent the polishing wheels 523 and 524. Looselymounted on the shaft 521 are the arms 53l which support the notchedguide plates 532 upon which the needle rests intermediate its lengthduring the polishing operations by these two wheels.

A spring finger 533 is also secured to the arm 53l directly under thepolishing wheels to urge the needle against the polishing wheels. Arm53! is provided with an adjusting screw 534 which contacts with the arm539 so that the position of arm 53I with respect to shaft 521, and hencethe movement that it undergoes with respect to the polishing wheels andthe final position thereof, may be accurately determined. The arm 53!adjacent the polishing wheel 525 (see Fig. 7) is positioned by means ofthe set screw 534 which coacts with a fixed stop 536 attached to themovable table 596 (see Figs. 3 and '7). In this case the plate 532 isprovided with a guiding member 535 having a tapered bore therethrough soas to guide the needle to the operating position between the wheel andthe spring finger 533. As is clear from Fig. 2, the adjustable screw 485is mounted above the front of the table 595, so that as the table movesin this screw will engage the housing 482 (see Fig. '1) to move it backas the table moves in, so that the polishing wheel 525 will operate atthe very point of the needle only. This operation of the housing 482 isdesirable so that when the movable table 599 moves back the housing andthe chuck assembly parts mounted thereon may move out to a position soas to be in alignment with the other chuck assemblies 452, 453, and 454,and to likewise be in proper alignment with the fingers 499 so that theymay insert and remove needles from all of these chuck assembliessimultaneously. However, since the polishing wheel 525 only operates onthe point of the needle, it is necessary that the chuck assembly whichsupports it move back since all of the polishing wheels are on the sameaxis of rotation.

Referring again to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the movable table 506'is provided with a transverse extension 531 and the plate M3 is providedwith an extension 538 which overlies the extension 531. Rotatablymounted between these extensions is a short shaft 548 to which issecured the heart shaped cam 549 and the ratchet wheel 54I. Pivotallymounted on the short shaft 548 is a lever 542 which is connected at oneend by a. spring 544 to the yoke 522. The other end'of lever 542 haspivotally supported thereon a small pawl 541 which engages with theteeth of the ratchet wheel. A spring pressed pawl 545 is pivotallysupported on the extension 531 in a position so as to engage the teethof the ratchet wheel. Secured to the under surface of extension 538 area pair of rollers 539 which engage the periphery of the heart shaped cam549. Extension 531 is provided with 2. lug in which is mounted anadjustable stop screw 543 positioned to engage the lever 542. At 546 isan adjustable stop screw mounted on any suitable fixed support so thatit is positioned to engage the right hand end of lever 542. When thetable 596 is moved back by lever 599 a predetermined distance the fixedscrew 545 engages the lever 542. Further movement of the table and ofcourse the extensions will cause lever 542 to rotate in acounterclockwise direction on the shaft 548. This relative movement ofthe lever will cause rotation of shaft 548 through the action of pawl541 on the ratchet 54E attached to shaft 548. Simultaneously with themovement of ratchet wheel 54! the cam 549 moves shifting the plate 5|3with the motor, yoke and polishing wheels thereon, a slight distance tothe right or left, depending upon the shape of the cam and its coactionwith the cam rollers 539.

As soon as table 596' moves back, lever 542 moves in a. clockwisedirection under the action of spring 544 until that lever engages thefixed stop screw 543. Reverse rotation of ratchet 54l and cam 549 isprevented by the fixed pawl 545. Thus, as the motor and polishing wheelsare moved back and forth for successive engagement with the needles themotor and polishing wheel support will be given a succession of smalltransverse movements which will continue back and forth between limitsas determined by the shape of cam 548. Thus the polishing wheels arecontinually presenting fresh surfaces to the needles so that they willnot become grooved or uneven thereby insuring accurate polishing of theneedles.

It might be noted, as is clear from Fig. 4, that the first polishingwheel 523 merely polishes the top of the grooved portion N4 of theneedle. The second polishing wheel 524, as is clear from Fig. 5,polishes the needle at the point between the very tip and the slottedportion, or in other words, the part N5 of the needle. During thisoperation the needle is spun on its longitudinal axis since this chuckassembly is given a spinning movement through the oscillation of therack 419. The final polishing operation accomplished by the wheel 525,as illustrated in Fig. 7, takes place at the very tip or point N1 of theneedle, at which time the needle is again-spun on its longitudinal axis.The spinning during these two operations insures a smooth cylindricalsurface for the needle at these points.

The manner in which the needles are transferred from chuck to chuck willnow be described in connection with Fig. 1. It will be assumed that thechuck assemblies 452 to 455 inclusive each hold a needle. Bell cranklever 592 will be given a. counterclockwise movement to cause the bar49! to slide to the left on the plate 499. This will bring the fingers499 from the position shown in Fig. 1 over to the left so that each pairof fingers is directly over one of the chuck assemblies. The accuratepositioning of the fingers is determined by the adjustment of the setscrews on the lugs 493 and 496, and their cooperation with ear 495. Rod489 then descends carrying with it the plate 499 and all the partsmounted thereon. This brings thefingers 499 down so that each pair lieson opposite sides of a needle. With this position of the parts pin 529will be to the left of arm 594 and in the range of action thereof. Thisarm then moves over, causing all of the short levers 491 to swing to theleft through the link 599 so that the cams 498 move to a positionpermitting springs 498 to close the fingers 499. Fingers 451 (Fig. 3)then move in to open the chuck assembly, releasing the needles. Rod 489then moves up carrying plate 499 and all attached parts including thefingers 499 with it. It may be noted here that the fingers will alwaysremain closed under the action of the springs in view of the shape ofthe cams 498 and even though pin 529 moves out of contact with lever594. i

At the end of the upward movement of these parts, lever 502 recedes sothat spring 494 may move the bar 49! and all its attached parts back tothe right hand position which is shown in Fig. 1. Rod 489 again descendsso that the needles in the three pairs of fingers at the left are placedin position to be gripped by the chucks 553, 454 and 455.v Fingers 45'!then recede and the chucks close on the needles. Lever 554 is then inposition to engage pin 52| andmoves to the right causing cams 498 toopen the fingers 499. Thus the needles have been shifted one position tothe right and rod 489 again moves upwardly to the position shown inFig. 1. The mechanism as illustrated includes no device forautomatically feeding the work pieces to the first chuck 552. It issuflicient for the purposes of this disclosure to state that the needlesmay be delivered to this chuck by hand, one at a time, as it opens toreceive them. In the complete machine illustrated in the parentapplication above mentioned, mechanism is provided for automaticallyfeeding the needles, one .at a time, to the first chuck. The fingers 499at the extreme right deliver, at the l time the other fingers deliver,needles to the chucks, a needle into the range of action of themechanism in which the needles are collected, and which will now bedescribed.

Mechanism for receiving the needles from the last pair of fingers 499comprises a support 555 which has a pair of grooved lugs 554 on one sidethereof as is clear from Figs. 2 and 10. These lugs are engaged by earson the base plate 553 as shown in these figures. When these ears areslipped in place in the grooved lugs the base plate is held in place onthe support by means of a spring pressed lever 552 which engages with alug 552' on the base plate.

,The base plate is provided with a pair of transversely extending arms553 on each side thereof, upon which are pivotally mounted springpressed arms 554 having the bars 555 positioned over the ways 556 on thebase plate. One of the ways is provided with a groove as shown toreceive the hook end of the needles, as is clear from the figures. Theneedles are grouped against the rolls by means of the spring pressedarms 554 which permit of the needles being forced thereunder. By thearrangement of the grooved lugs and the spring pressed arm 552 and thelug 552 the base plate may be detachably secured to the supportingtable. At 559 is a longitudinally slidable bar which moves in a groovein the support 550 and is limited in its movement by means of a detentcontrolled plunger 556 positioned to be engaged by the end of the bar559. This bar supports a pair of fingers 555 having notches at theirupper ends adjacent the portion of the support upon which the needlesare deposited by the right hand set of fingers 599. The fingers 560 andthe bar 559 are caused to slide back and forth by means of the linkconnection 55H, the bell crank lever 552 and the rod 553, which isoperated in any suitable manner from the power source below the table.moves up and down the fingers 560 and bar see move back and forth. Intheir forward movement these fingers engage the needles deposited infront thereof and force them under the spring pressed gripping plate 558which is supported from above the needle slide by means of the plate551. This gripping plate holds the needles down against the needleguides and the fingers 555 move over to the dotted position shown inFig. 1 at the extreme right to deliver the needles under Thus, as therod 553' the plates 555 which are resiliently supported as described.

Each succeeding needle is moved up to engage the preceding needle sothat they are gradually fed forward in a neatly arranged row, and heldfirmly on the way, as will be apparent. When a tray is full of needlesit is removed by hand and an empty tray inserted in its place by movingback the spring urged arm 552.

The various operating mechanism mounted below the table l and by whichpower is delivered to the various operating levers and arms as abovedescribed have not been shown in detail since their construction andarrangement will be obvious to those skilled in the art of machinedesign. The driving mechanism merely consists of cams and the like soformed as to impart to the various levers and arms movements inaccordance with the above description. The shaft ID of course is drivenfrom any suitable power source to effect rotation of the cam 452.

What I seek to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

l. A device of the type described comprising a support, a plurality ofchucks mounted on said support, some of said chucks being rotatablymounted, means for simultaneously opening and closing the chucks, meansfor carrying the work successively from one chuck to the next, means forimparting rotation to the rotatable chucks, a plurality of polishingwheels mounted adjacent said chucks, means for rotating said wheels,means for effecting linear movement of the wheels towards and away fromsaid chucks, and means for effecting axial movement of the polishingwheels in small increments.

2. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising asupport, a plurality of work holding chucks mounted along said support,means for automatically and simultaneously transferring the work piecesin said chucks successively and progressively from chuck to chuck, asecond support reciprocally mounted, a plurality of polishing wheelsrotatably mounted on said support, means for rotating said polishingwheels, means for reciprocating said second support to bring thepolishing wheels into contact with the work when held in said chucks,and means for slightly reciprocating said second support at right anglesto its first mentioned line of reciprocation in a step-by-step movement.

3. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising asupport, a plurality of chucks mounted on said support, metal workingheads associated with said chucks, a receiving tray mounted in alignmentwith said chucks, means for advancing work pieces successively fromchuck to chuck and finally to said tray, said tray including resilientlymounted shoes and automatic means for moving the work pieces under saidshoes.

4. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising asupport, a plurality of chucks mounted in alignment on said support,polishing heads adjacent said chucks, a work piece receiving table, atray mounted in alignment with said table, means for automatically andprogressively advancing work pieces from chuck to chuck and finallydelivering'them onto said table, and means for automatically deliveringthe work pieces onto said tray, said tray including resiliently mountedshoes for holding the work pieces on said tray.

5. In a metal working attachment of the type described the combinationcomprising a fixed support, a plurality of chucks mounted in alignmenton said support, means for simultaneously openingand closing saidchucks, a vertically and horizontally reciprocable carrier above saidchucks, a plurality of pairs of fingers, one-for each chuck, mounted onsaid carrier, means for simultaneously opening and closing all of saidpairs of fingers, means for effecting vertical reciprocation'of saidcarrier, means for effecting horizontal reciprocation of said carrierwhereby work pieces are successively transferred from chuck to chuckfrom one end towards the other, and a plurality of metal workingattachments one for each of said chucks.

6. In a metal working attachment of the type described the combinationcomprising a fixed support, a plurality of chucks mounted in alignmenton said support, means for simultaneously opening and closing saidchucks, a vertically and horizontally reciprocable carrier above saidchucks, a plurality of pairs of fingers, one for each chuck, mounted onsaid carrier, means for simultaneously opening and closing all of saidpairs of fingers, means for effecting vertical reciprocation of saidcarrier, means for effecting horizontal reciprocation of said carrierwhereby work pieces are successively transferred from chuck to chuckfrom one end towards the other, a longitudinally reciprocable table, anda plurality of metal working devices mounted on said table so as to bealigned with said chucks.

'7. In the combination of claim 6 means for rotatably supporting some ofsaid chucks, and means for effecting oscillation thereof.

8. In the combination of claim 6 means for effecting step by stepmovement of said table, and metal working devices mounted thereon.

9. In the combination of claim 6 means for effecting step by steptransverse movement of said table and the metal working devices mountedthereon including means operated by the longitudinal reciprocation ofsaid table.

10. In a metal working attachment of the type described the combinationcomprising a fixed support, a plurality of chucks mounted in alignmenton said support, means for simultaneously opening and closing saidchucks, a vertically and horizontally reciprocable carrier above saidchucks, a plurality of pairs of fingers, one for each chuck, mounted onsaid carrier, means for simultaneously opening and closing all of saidpairs of fingers, means for effecting vertical reciprocation of saidcarrier, means for effecting horizontal reciprocation of said carrierwhereby work pieces are successively transferred from chuck to chuckfrom one end towards the other, a longitudinally reciprocable table, aplurality of metal working devices mounted on said table so as to bealigned with said chucks, and means for receiving and aligning workpieces including a removable tray.

11. A device of the type described for polishing work pieces comprisinga support, a plurality of chucks mounted on said support, some of saidchucks being rotatably mounted, means for simultaneously opening andclosing the chucks, polishing wheels mounted in alignment with saidchucks, means for simultaneously carrying the work pieces successivelyfrom one chuck to the next when the chucks are opened, and means forimparting rotation to the rotatable chucks when the work pieces are heldthereby against the polishing wheels.

12. An apparatus of the type described comprising the combination of afixed support, a

plurality of chucks mounted on said support, a receiving tray mounted inalignment with said chucks, polishing heads aligned with said chucks,means for advancing work pieces successively from chuck to chuck andfinally to said tray, and means operating intermittently for assemblingand holding thework pieces on said tray in a single layer.

13.'A device of the type described for polishing aplurality of workpieces at one time, comprising a support, a plurality of chucks mountedon said support, some of said chucks being rotatably mounted, means forsimultaneously opening and closing the chucks, means for simultaneouslycarrying all the work pieces successively from one chuck to thenextwhile the chucks are open, a plurality of polishing wheels mountedadjacent said chucks, means for rotating said wheels, means forimparting rotation to the rotatable chucks when the work pieces heldtherein engage the polishing wheels, and means for effecting linearmovement of the wheels towards and away from said chucks.

14. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising asupport, a plurality of chucks mounted on said support in a row, a second support mounted for reciprocation towards and away from said chucksin a direction parallel to and in alignment with the longitudinal axesof said chucks, means for effecting reciprocation of said secondsupport, a plurality of polishing wheels rotatably mounted on saidsecond support, and motive means mounted on said second support foreffecting rotation of said polishing wheels.

15. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising asupport, a plurality of chucks mounted on said support, some of whichinclude means for supporting them for rotation on their longitudinalaxes, means for simultaneously opening and closing said chucks, meansfor simultaneously transferring work pieces from each chuck to the nextwhile all chucks are open, metal working devices mounted adjacent saidchucks, and means for effecting oscillation of said rotatably mountedchucks when the work pieces therein engage the metal working devices.

16. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising afixed support, a plurality of chucks mounted on said support, some ofwhich include means for supporting them for rotation on theirlongitudinal axes, means for simultaneously opening and closing saidchucks, polishing heads mounted in front of said chucks, means foreffecting oscillation of said rotatably mounted chucks on theirlongitudinal axes when work pieces held therein engage the polishingheads, and means for automatically and simultaneously transferring thework pieces in succession and progressively from chuck to chuck.

17. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising afixed support, a plurality of work holding chucks mounted on saidsupport in a row, a carrier supported for movement towards and away fromsaid chucks along a line parallel to said chucks and in alignmenttherewith, means for effecting movement of said carrier, power operatedpolishing wheels rotatablymounted on said carrier so as to engage workpieces held by said chucks, some of said chucks being mounted foroscillation on their axes, and means for oscillating said chucks whenthe work held therein is in contact with the associated polishingwheels.

18. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising asupport, a plurality of chucks mounted in alignment with said sup* port,polishing heads adjacent said chucks, a work piece receiving table, atray mounted in alignment with said table, means for automatically andprogressively advancing work pieces from chuck to chuck, and finallydelivering them onto said table, intermittently operating means forautomatically and successively advancing the work pieces onto and alongsaid tray, and means for resiliently holding the workpieces in deliveredsequence. Y

19. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising asupport, a plurality ofchucks mounted in alignment with said support,means for simultaneously opening and closing said chucks, polishingheads mounted adjacent said chucks, a work piece receiving table, a traymounted in alignment with said table, means for automatically andprogressively advancing work pieces from chuck to chuck and finallydelivering them onto said table, intermittent means for automaticallyand successively advancing work pieces onto and along said tray, andmeans for clamping the work pieces on the tray in delivered sequence.

20. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising afixed work supporting chuck, a movable carriage, a power drivenpolishing wheel mounted on said carriage, means for moving said carriagetowards and away from said chuck longitudinally of the chuck and in apath in alignment therewith, and means operated by and in accordancewith the movement of said carriage for efiecting step-by-step movementof said polishing wheel transversely of the line of movement of saidcarriage.

21. In an apparatus of the type described the combination comprising aplurality of chucks mounted in a row on a fixed support, a carriagemounted for movement towards and away from said chucks in a path alignedwith the chuck axes, a plurality of power driven polishing wheelsrotatably, supported on said carriage, means for efiecting movement ofsaid carriage, and means actuatedby and in accordance with the movementsof said carriage for efiecting an additional movement transversely to.the first line of movement thereof.

' ALFRED HOFMANN.

